NFL '17 Season Has Themes Of Widespread Parity, As Well As Lost Star Power To Injuries

October 18, 2017

The NFL's "extreme parity this season leaves us without even one great team," something that is "great" for the league's overall product, according to Frank Schwab of YAHOO SPORTS. The fact that "everything changes from week to week" is not a "knock on the league." It means that every game has "intrigue." Schwab: "If you prefer parity, the NFL in 2017 is your league. ... But if you're looking for your Golden State Warriors of this NFL season, you’ll be looking for a while" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/17). However, THE RINGER's Kevin Clark wrote the '17 season so far has been "defined by widespread mediocrity." No one "is perfect, no one is even great, and it may stay that way." Clark: "Could it just be a blip and might we be watching the same old faces come January? Sure, but what’s more likely is that a number of on- and off-field factors have converged to push and pull more teams toward the middle." Whether or not the NFL "genuinely wants it is another question altogether." The NFL has "long held the view that parity is a good thing and that 'anything can happen on Sunday' is the reason fans tune in every weekend. However, there is "no clear consensus on what fans across sports prefer." MLB's ratings "tend to dip when the Yankees aren’t involved." The Bulls of the '90s "brought in record Finals ratings," while the current Warriors have "brought with them ratings not seen" since the early-'00s Lakers (THERINGER.com, 10/17). In Seattle, Bob Condotta notes this "might be the most parity-driven NFL season ever." Condotta: "Exhibit A might have been the victory by the previously-winless New York Giants ... at what was a one-loss Denver team, a win in which the Giants simply dominated from the start in what ended as a 23-10 drubbing of the Broncos" (SEATTLE TIMES, 10/18).

INJURY REPORT: THE RINGER's Robert Mays noted Packers QB Aaron Rodgers' likely season-ending broken collarbone "capped a brutal stretch of injuries to some of the NFL’s most visible personalities." Over the span of eight days, Rodgers, Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. (fractured ankle) and Texans DE J.J. Watt (tibial plateau fracture) were all "presumably lost for the season." With that trio gone, the NFL now "faces the strange reality of marketing itself as a league largely devoid of stars." Patriots QB Tom Brady and Steelers WR Antonio Brown are still competing at high levels, but the league's list of superstars "doesn’t go much deeper than that." The recent group of players lost also are some of the league's "most transcendent, the ones who managed to break through the relative anonymity." They are the ones "featured in commercials for shampoo, car insurance, and headphones." Mays: "Losing so many players in that tier presents yet another challenge for a league already facing questions about its appeal" (THERINGER.com, 10/16). In Charlotte, Brendan Marks wrote injuries "seem to have gotten out of hand this NFL season." Injuries were "always a part of the game, but not with this severity, not with this consistency, not with this longevity." In addition to the aforementioned three players, other stars injured right now include Cardinals DB Patrick Peterson, Bills DT Marcell Dareus, Chiefs S Eric Berry and Panthers LB Luke Kuechly. That is "a lot of injured stars." Marks: "When you look at the NFL this season, a league with almost more injuries than some others have players, it’s difficult to cope with the current state of that risk" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 10/17).